MAPLETON, Iowa | Scott Breyfogle received two monumental Christmas gifts this year.
No. 1: He and wife Rachael celebrated the birth of their first child, son Wesley Reed, who entered the world on Dec. 20.
No. 2: Scott learned about that time he no longer had to make student loan payments. His $15,000 in student debt had been retired!
OK, the first gift easily outweighs the second. Still, this is a story about student debt levels in higher education. So, we'll focus on the latter with a glance toward the former.
The Institute for College Access reported last fall that the average student-loan debt in the collegiate class of 2011 rose 5 percent to $26,500. Nearly two-thirds of those who earned bachelor's degrees in 2011 took out loans to help finance their educational journeys. That number is 76 percent in South Dakota.
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Breyfogle was part of that loan-taking crowd before his graduation in 2007 from South Dakota State University.
"Six months after graduation, you start paying back the loans," said Breyfogle, 29.
The rookie math teacher at Maple Valley/Anthon-Oto High School in Mapleton began writing checks for $115 per month.
Keep in mind, Breyfogle's debt load was cut thanks to a football scholarship that paid his way as a fifth-year senior. Breyfogle also qualified for partial athletic aid during his sophomore and junior seasons at the state school.
"I also had quite a few scholarships to help pay the first year," he says, noting he qualified for SDSU's "Jackrabbit Guarantee" that allows students whose ACT scores exceed 24 to qualify for $1,000 in aid in each of four years.
"I know there are other colleges who have programs like that," he adds.
At Mount Marty College, a private college, in nearby Yankton, S.D., for example, 99.1 percent of full-time students receive financial aid; 98.3 percent earn some sort of Mount Marty assistance via grants or scholarships; and 87.2 percent receive academic assistance, similar to the "Jackrabbit Guarantee" Breyfogle earned.
"The initial sticker shock of a private school is hard to overcome sometimes," says Jill Paulson, director of admissions at Mount Marty College. "We try to stay that we're often able to close that gap."
The average financial aid package for a full-time Mount Marty student comes to $19,337.
"We feel lucky in a sense that we are one of the more affordable colleges in the Midwest," Paulson adds.
The affordability of Breyfogle's education at South Dakota State was boosted when he and coworker Erin Yoder, a science teacher at MVAO High School, investigated a program for teachers in designated "high-need" academic areas like math and science.
Breyfogle learned he could have up to 20 percent of his student loan balance paid for via this program.
Breyfogle went into math education because he liked math. He didn't enter the profession because it had a shortage of teachers in the Midwest. The fact he did was a blessing.
"I had only two job interviews and I was offered a job at both places," he says.
A second student loan program aimed at teachers in shortage areas offered to pay up to $17,000 in loans for instructors who stayed at their respective position for five years.
Last summer, Breyfogle qualified for this program. He used it to pay whatever balance he had remaining. And he forgot about it until after the birth of their son, Wesley.
"I didn't know until I looked online," he remembers. "I looked for what I owed and it was all zeroes. I printed it off and showed it to my wife."
Celebrate? Not really. There were diapers to buy.
"Maybe this was in the plans all along," Breyfogle says with a laugh.
